Bolivian Rams

[haich]

i bought 3 rams last week but dont know what the sexes are have posted but the 3 were in a 40 gal and 2 seemed to be picking on 1 so moved 1 in to my 10 gal and has lost all his colour

so left the other 2 in the 40 gal and they seem to be at each other all the time so im thinking 3 males

so my question is would i be able to put 2 females in with the 2 in the 40 or would it be wiser to remove 1 male and 2ndly would a female be ok in the 10 with the rest of the population?

any advice appreciated

cheers howard

1-

2-

3-

i posted these pics the other day and was informed that 1 and 3 were possible males and 2 was female but i cant tell

 

[a.d.wood]

Hi there,

Given you can't reliably sex bolivian rams (it's well reported that things like fin extensions, and bright colours can appear in both sexes), I'm not sure how you can be sure you will be picking up the additonal females you think you will need.

You're best bet (space permitting) is to get say 6 fish, give them the territorial space they need, and let the pair bonds develop naturally. You ca then remove the 'gooseberries' at a later date and leave your par on their own.

Andrew

 

[guppy_man]

i done some research for you and found this link that tells you everything about bolivian rams, hope it helps you
http/www.cichlidae.info/article.php?id=31

 

[nightowl2912]

thank you guppy_man, i had a look at that link it is very hlepfull
thank you
Andy

 

[haich]

cheers for response good point ad wood held of getting them females no dont have room for 6 more damn tank

guppy man good link that thanks for that

 

[AmberC]

Rams ARE sexually dimorphic and those three all look like males to me. If you dont want to breed, then just get a large group of them and all will be fine. 3 or 4 is just not a good number to have. 6 would be better.

HTH
Amber

 

[a.d.wood]

Rams ARE sexually dimorphic and those three all look like males to me. If you dont want to breed, then just get a large group of them and all will be fine. 3 or 4 is just not a good number to have. 6 would be better.

Yes, they are sexually dimorphic.

However it is increasingly reported that with the tank bred specimens, the traits you commonly look for such as colouration and fin extensions are present in both males and females, so it's no longer a clear cut decision in some cases.

Andrew

 

[AmberC]

Where has this been reported because I have never heard anything about this before. I'd just like to see the proof of what your saying. Your not talking about how they are dying the males in Asia are you?

Amber

 

[a.d.wood]

Hi Amber,

No, not dyed fish. It relates in part to the tank bred strains (inbreeding and limited genepool) and it would appear possibly also some of the wild strains. I don't have the my books on me for the page references, but for starters check:

Römer, Uwe. Cichlid Atlas 1. Published by Mergus (Germany) Mergus wesite. You need to check the entry under Mikrogeophagus altispinosus in the actual book.

You can also browse through 'The Krib' data for M. altispinosus where a couple of remarks are made about sexing this fish (I personally like the one about 'the males the one not laying the eggs').

Andrew

 

[AmberC]

Ok Andrew.. I'll check those out. Thanks for the info.

Amber